The Israeli military said Thursday that it launched strikes on Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon in response to what it described as the groups attempts to rebuild operations in the region.
The Israel Defense Forces Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued warnings to residents of several villages in the region ahead of the strikes.
You are located in a building used by Hezbollah. For your safety, you are requested to evacuate immediately to a distance of at least 500 meters from the building. Remaining in the vicinity of these structures endangers your lives, Adraee said.
A US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel went into effect in November 2024, ending over a year of cross-border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The fighting began when the Lebanese militant group launched attacks on Israeli positions a day after the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault, in what Hezbollah said was an act of solidarity.
Under the agreement, Israel was to halt offensive operations and gradually withdraw from positions inside southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah was to pull back heavy weaponry north of the Litani River. However, Israel has continued to strike targets in Lebanon, citing Hezbollah violations of the truce, claims the group has denied.
The Israeli security cabinet is set to convene Thursday evening, according to two Israeli officials. One of the officials told CNN that Lebanon will be among the topics discussed.
The officials said Israel has been warning in recent weeks against what they described as Hezbollah attempts to rearm and reestablish its offensive capabilities.
Last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened security consultations with some cabinet ministers to discuss Israeli reactions. According to an Israeli source with knowledge of the discussion, the military recommended launching a wide scale operation against Hezbollahs alleged rearming attempts.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said last week that Israel cannot bury its head in the sand as Hezbollah continues to intensify its efforts to rebuild and rearm.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun made headlines in recent days after suggesting that his country had no choice but to negotiate with Israel directly.
Lebanon has no choice but negotiation, because in politics there are three fields of action: diplomacy, economy and war. When war leads to no result, what else can be done?, he was cited as saying by local media , widely believed to be referring to Israel.
In a statement on Thursday, Hezbollah accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire reached in November 2024, and of blackmailing the Lebanese government into recognizing Israel.
(Lebanon) is absolutely not interested in succumbing to aggressive blackmail or being drawn into political negotiations with the Zionist enemy. Such negotiations serve no national interest and pose existential risks to the Lebanese entity and its sovereignty, it said, affirming the groups legitimate right to resist occupation and aggression.
Israels military action comes days after US Special Envoy Tom Barack said Lebanon was a failed state run by dinosaurs. Barrack voiced doubts about whether authorities will be able to disarm Hezbollah, which he said had more vastly more weapons than Lebanons armed forces.
In our opinion, its not reasonable to tell Lebanon, Forcibly disarm one of your political parties. Everybodys scared to death to go into civil war. The idea is: What can you do to have Hezbollah not utilize those rockets and missiles, he said.
以色列军方周四表示，已对黎巴嫩南部各地的真主党目标发动袭击，以回应该组织试图在该地区重建行动的行为。
以色列国防军阿拉伯语发言人阿维切·阿德拉伊在空袭前向该地区多个村庄的居民发出警告。
阿德拉伊表示：“你们目前身处真主党使用的建筑物内。为保障安全，请立即撤离至距离该建筑至少500米以外的区域。继续停留在这些建筑附近将危及生命。”
2024年11月，由美国斡旋达成的黎以停火协议正式生效，结束了以色列与黎巴嫩真主党持续逾一年的跨境冲突。此次冲突始于2023年10月7日哈马斯袭击次日，黎巴嫩武装组织真主党对以色列阵地发动攻击，其声称此举是为声援巴勒斯坦的团结行动。
根据协议，以色列应停止进攻行动并逐步从黎巴嫩南部撤军，而真主党则需将重型武器撤至利塔尼河以北。然而，以色列以真主党违反停火协议为由，持续对黎巴嫩境内目标发动袭击，但这一说法遭到该组织的否认。
据两名以色列官员透露，以色列安全内阁将于周四晚间召开会议。其中一名官员向美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）表示，黎巴嫩问题将是讨论议题之一。
以色列官员近日警告称，真主党正试图重新武装并恢复其进攻能力。
上周，以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡召集部分内阁部长举行安全磋商，讨论以方应对措施。据一位了解讨论内容的以色列消息人士透露，军方建议针对真主党所谓的重新武装企图展开大规模军事行动。
以色列外长吉德翁·萨尔（Gideon Sa'ar）上周也表示，随着真主党“持续加紧重建和重新武装的步伐”，以色列“不能把头埋在沙子里（逃避现实）”。
黎巴嫩总统米歇尔·奥恩近日成为头条新闻，他表示该国“别无选择”，只能与以色列直接谈判。
黎巴嫩别无选择，只能通过谈判解决问题，因为在政治领域有三种行动方式：外交、经济和战争。当战争无法取得成果时，还能做什么呢？当地媒体援引他的话说，外界普遍认为他指的是以色列。
黎巴嫩真主党周四发表声明，指控以色列多次违反2024年11月达成的停火协议，并试图通过“胁迫”手段迫使黎巴嫩政府承认以色列。
黎巴嫩绝不愿屈服于侵略性勒索，也不愿被卷入与犹太复国主义敌人的政治谈判。此类谈判既不符合国家利益，也对黎巴嫩实体及其主权构成生存威胁。声明同时重申了该组织抵抗占领与侵略的合法权利。
以色列采取军事行动的数日前，美国特使汤姆·巴拉克（Tom Barrack）曾称黎巴嫩是一个由"恐龙"统治的"失败国家"。巴拉克对当局能否解除真主党武装表示怀疑，并称该组织拥有的武器数量远超黎巴嫩政府军。
他表示：“我们认为，要求黎巴嫩‘强制解除某一政党的武装’是不合理的。所有人都对爆发内战恐惧至极。关键在于：如何让真主党停止使用那些火箭弹和导弹。”
